Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!I am re-posting this awesome recipe for homemade marshmallows! I originally posted this two years ago. But, they are so delicious, I didn't think you would mind. And, I am including a free printable sheet of labels. You still have time to make these and hand out as little gifts for Christmas! The link to the labels is at the end of the post.Also, there will not be a Tasty Tuesday party next week because of Christmas. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and enjoy time with your families........................................................Have
you noticed that everyone is talking about and making homemade marshmallows this
year? Darby made them. Joy the Baker made them. Smitten
Kitchen has
made them. They seem to be quite the trend and it is one trend I wasn't about
to miss out on.

.

{ The
recipe I followed was mostly from Joy the Baker, with a little of Smitten
Kitchen mixed in; click on the links above to see their original recipes
}

.

.

Ingredients:

- 1/2
cup cornstarch

- 1/2 cup powdered
sugar

- 1 cup cold
water

- (3) 1/4-ounce packages
unflavored gelatin

- 1-1/2 cups
sugar

- 1/4 cup honey

- 2/3 cup light corn
syrup

- 1/4 teaspoon
salt

- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla
extract

- half of a vanilla bean;
seeds scraped out

.In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and
powdered sugar. Coat a 9×13 baking pan (metal or glass) with non-stick cooking
spray. Dust pan with small amount of powdered sugar and cornstarch mixture. Set
both aside.

.

Pour 1/2 cup cold water into
the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Pour the gelatin packs
over the water and let sit for about 10 minutes.

.

In a medium saucepan over
medium heat, bring sugar, honey, corn syrup, salt, and remaining cold water to a
boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Attach a candy thermometer the the side of
the pan and bring mixture up to 240 degrees F (labeled as "soft-ball" on
thermometer). Don't stir - just watch the pan carefully to make sure mixture
doesn't boil over!

.

When the sugar is heated to
240 degrees, turn on the mixer with the gelatin and water on to low speed.
Carefully pour the hot sugar mixture in to the mixer bowl. Be careful not to
pour the mixture onto the whisk - you don't want the hot mixture to splatter.
Gradually increase the speed of the mixer until you have added all of the hot
sugar mixture. Beat on high for several minutes until a thick, fluffy, white
marshmallow batter has formed (about 8 to 9 minutes). I'm sure you could also
use a hand mixer for this - you just will be holding the mixer for a
while!

.

Pour in the vanilla extract
and vanilla bean and beat for another 2 minutes.

.

.

Spread the marshmallow mixture
into prepared pan. I tried using a spatula to smooth out the mixture but found
that it was too sticky and made more of a mess. I ended up just shaking the pan
around a bit to level out the mixture. Top marshmallow with small amount (about
1/4 c.) corn starch and powdered sugar mixture and let set and rest,
uncovered, for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

.

After marshmallow has set, run
a knife all along the edge of the pan to loosen marshmallow, and turn out on to
a cutting board dusted with powdered sugar.

.

Use a pizza cutter to cut the
marshmallows. Spray the pizza cutter with non-stick cooking spray so that it
doesn't stick.

.

.

.

As you cut, toss the
marshmallows with remaining corn starch and powdered sugar mixture. This helps
the marshmallows not to stick. Trust me, they will be sticky!

.

I ended up with 90 or so 1"
marshmallow cubes. Marshmallows will keep in an airtight container for up to
two weeks.

.

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Here is the gift tag I made:

.

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I divided the marshmallows up
among treat bags that I found at Michael's.

.

.

Add ribbon and a tag and
you're all set for gift giving! Who wouldn't enjoy a few homemade marshmallows
to top hot chocolate?

Print
out the tags on a 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of white cardstock. Trim along the edges
and use a hole punch to punch a hole in each tag. I used a corner trimmer at
each corner to make rounded corners. Use ribbon, twine, or string to attach
tags to your gift bags.

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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

I finally cooked this week - can you believe it? it felt good to be in the kitchen again. I made a delicious risotto that I had found and pinned on Pinterest. It was so good. And the best part - it is really easy to make. The only real prep work is chopping an onion. Also, you don't need to stand at the stove for an hour stirring the risotto - you bake it in the oven!

Directions:Preheat oven to 400F (200C). Melt butter in a large, ovenproof saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and stir often until soft, 5 min. Stir in rice until coated, then tomatoes. Stir often until liquid is almost absorbed, 4 to 5 min. Then stir in broth, seasonings and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Tightly cover pan and bake in centre of oven until all liquid is absorbed, 30 to 40 min. Stir in cheese and spinach. Spoon into bowls and enjoy!

The canned jar of tomatoes I used had basil and garlic in it, so it added an extra punch of flavor.

I had a hard time getting good photos - I made this at night and there was no natural daylight. Boo.

This recipe is definitely a keeper - I know I'll make it again. It would be great with grilled chicken breasts too.

What did you cook this week?

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Thursday, December 6, 2012

﻿A few weeks ago I was contacted by the lovely people at Minted. Have you ever visited their site? Wow, I was really impressed with the beautiful cards on their site.

I loved that all of their cards have options - pretty envelope liners and return address label wrappers that coordinate with each design.

You even have several options for the back of your card. A solid color, a pretty pattern, or photos.

Different corner designs are another fun option.

Just a few of my favorite designs:

This is the coordinating envelope liner and wrapper for the card shown above. So pretty, isn't it?﻿

Most cards are offered in multiple colors. Here are two different colors in the same design:

Another reason to love Minted? Their products are the work of independent graphic designers all around the world. Here's a little bit about Minted from their website:

"Minted is a global community of independent graphic designers and an online store that prints and sells the best of their designs in the form of paper goods.

Minted holds monthly design challenges for stationery, invitations, calendars, and other categories and all graphic designers are invited to enter. The Minted community selects the best designs in a highly competitive process, which gives us a top selection of the freshest, finest cards in the world. Winning designers earn cash prizes, a place in the Minted collection, and commissions on all sales of their designs."

﻿

Minted isn't only for cards - they have an awesome selection of Party Decorations, calenders, stationary, business cards, and art prints. Everything is beautiful!

If you don't have time to send out Christmas cards - I found a few New Years cards on Minted.

I've only shared a few of the designs from Minted. You will find pages and pages of different designs on their site. My cards arrived yesterday - I can't wait to send them out!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

I am cheating again this week - the recipe I am sharing today is from November 2010.

.............................................

I made this
a few weeks ago and it was delicious. It's a little different than the things I
normally cook. First of all, there's meat! I don't even know if I've ever
posted another recipe on my blog that included meat (other than bacon). I'm not
really a vegetarian but I just don't cook meat much at home. I'm not really
sure why? Anyways, the turkey meatballs were delicious. Even if you don't like
the sounds of the squash, I would recommend making the meatballs. You could use
them lots of different ways, definitely with traditional spaghetti.

1. Preheat
oven to 375 degrees. Season cut sides of squash with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bake,
cut sides down, on a baking sheet until tender, about 45 minutes. Let stand
until cool enough to handle. Scrape flesh into strands using a fork. Let drain,
covered to keep warm, in a colander set over a bowl.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

I'm starting to feel like i am never going to cook again! It's been a while. I didn't even have to cook for Thanksgiving! So, here is a pizza recipe I originally posted back April of 2010. It's a good one.

..............................................

I had a pizza like this
recently at a restaurant and tried to recreate it at home. The asparagus makes
it a great pizza for Spring.

.When dough is almost finished
rising, preheat oven to 500 degrees. If you use a pizza stone, preheat it in
the oven too..Next, prepare toppings..Slice mushrooms..

The santoku in the photo comes
courtesy of Baby
Sister. It was one of many great birthday gifts I received this year from
her. I don't know what I did before I had this knife. It makes food prep so
much easier!

Break asparagus into 2 - 3 inch pieces.

.Sauté garlic & onions in a
generous dash of olive oil for a few minutes and then add the mushrooms. Sauté
a few minutes longer until mushrooms are soft..

When mushrooms are finished,
set aside.

.Roll out dough. I use a pizza
stone and when making pizza I like to use a little cornmeal to dust the stone
before I put on the dough. I think it helps to keep the dough form
sticking..I also like to prebake the crust before adding the
toppings. So, once your dough is rolled out and is on the pizza stone, bake in
oven for 3 -5 minutes..Next, top the pizza. I started with a drizzle of
olive oil all around the dough. Next comes the mozzarella. Then added the
asparagus, mushroom & onion mixture (make sure to drain any liquid that is
in the pan with the mushrooms from cooking), gorgonzola, pine nuts, and finish
with the parmesan. I topped of the pizza with a little drizzle of olive
oil..

.Bake for 15 - 20 minutes..Fresh out of the oven:.

.Enjoy!

What did you cook this week?

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